Eau Claire man get 15 years for illegal gun possession
MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreull, United Sates Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced on April 14 that, U. S. District Judge James D. Peterson sentenced Shane Sahm, 36, of Eau Claire for possessing firearms after being previously convicted of three felony burglaries.
Federal law requires a mandatory 15 years in prison, but Judge Peterson gave Sahm credit for 324 days spent in state custody on related charges, resulting in a total federal prison sentence of 14 years and 41 days. Sahm pleaded guilty to this charge on November 4, 2015.
On May 26, 2015, Sahm was arrested in Eau Claire, and was later charged by the Eau Claire County District Attorney with several residential burglaries in the area, including one in which he stole the firearms that were the basis for this federal gun charge. Sahm had been previously convicted of three other felony burglaries of a building or a dwelling. Under federal law, these convictions required that Sahm be sentenced to a mandatory 15-year prison sentence.
Sahm also has several state charges pending in both Chippewa and Eau Claire Counties. The federal sentence will run concurrently with any sentence received in those state cases.
In sentencing Sahm, Judge Peterson called Sahm a career criminal, and a dangerous person form whom the public needed protection. Judge Peterson further noted that although burglary is not the same as a bank robbery, it is an intense violation of someone’s home, after which, people never feel safe. Judge Peterson addressed Sahm’s prior disorderly conduct and battery convictions, pointing out the anger and violence associated with them.
